NY Jets sign Josh Johnson, add much-needed experience to QB room

Justin Fried

NY Jets, Josh Johnson / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NY Jets have added some much-needed NFL experience to their quarterback room signing veteran QB Josh Johnson, per his agent Doug Henderson.

Johnson hasn't played in the NFL since 2018, but he has experience working under current offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur and provides a valuable veteran presence to an unproven Jets quarterback room.

With Zach Wilson, Mike White, and James Morgan, the Jets' three quarterbacks combined for a whopping zero career NFL snaps.

Evidently, the Jets felt the need to add a veteran, at least for the preseason, and Johnson was their hand-picked choice. The 35-year-old visited with the team last week while Wilson was still dealing with his contract dispute.

Even with Wilson back, the Jets still made the move to bring Johnson aboard. In a corresponding move, the team released undrafted rookie linebacker Brendon White.

The NY Jets added a veteran quarterback in Josh Johnson.

A fifth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers way back in the 2008 NFL Draft, Johnson has had a long and storied football career. He spent the first four years of his career in Tampa Bay starting five games to subpar results.

Since then, he's had stints with 12 different NFL teams and played in various independent leagues such as the UFL, AAF, and XFL. Needless to say, his football career has been anything but conventional.

Johnson last played in the NFL with Washington in 2018 where he started three games throwing for three touchdowns and four interceptions.

He most recently played in the XFL with the Los Angeles Wildcats where he was one of the league's best players. In four starts, Johnson threw for 1,076 yards and 11 touchdowns while tossing only two interceptions.

Johnson was Pro Football Focus' highest-graded quarterback in the XFL's brief season showing that he might still have something left in the tank.

The Jets might still look to add another veteran at some point in the future. Johnson is hardly a long-term solution given that he's started more games in the XFL than the NFL since 2011.

The Jets wanted NFL experience in their QB room. And they got just that with the Josh Johnson signing.

Justin Fried

Justin Fried is an editor for FanSided who has over seven years of experience covering the NFL and various other sports. A diehard Jets fan since birth, Justin has served as the editor for The Jet Press since 2019, interviewing athletes such as Sauce Gardner, Curtis Martin, LaDainian Tomlinson, Joe Klecko, and many others. Justin has also worked closely with brands like Red Bull to help highlight the niche sectors of the sporting world. His four-part series on the sport of breaking remains one of his proudest pieces of work. In his spare time, Justin is an avid pro wrestling fan who is fortunate enough to have traveled to nearly 30 different countries.